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Teachers Union Vote Pits Local and National Groups

CHICAGO, July 3 - The dispute over a Chicago Teachers Union election widened Friday as the national teachers union said the challenger should take over as president, while the incumbent refused to relinquish the keys to the office.

The American Federation of Teachers said Friday that the challenger, Marilyn Stewart, should assume the presidency while the dispute over her 566-vote election victory last month is resolved.

The national union is conducting a preliminary investigation into the runoff election, which the local union invalidated amid allegations of voter fraud, and said its rules suggest that elections are presumed valid until a final decision on any challenges.

Deborah Lynch, the incumbent, had the office locks changed earlier in the week, and on Friday a lawyer for the Chicago Teachers Union said the office would remain in her hands.

Mr. Behar said both sides in the dispute had agreed to contact the national union on Tuesday to try to resolve the situation quickly.

Ms. Stewart, a special education teacher, showed up at the Chicago Teachers Union office on Thursday to take over as president but was turned away.

Rosemaria Genova, a spokeswoman for Ms. Stewart, said Ms. Stewart and her supporters were pleased that the national union had acknowledged the election results.

Ms. Genova said a federal judge had denied their request on Friday to have Ms. Lynch removed, adding that the judge recommended the national union and Labor Department resolve the situation quickly.

An A.F.T. spokesman, Alex Wohl, said Friday night that the national union staff had information from both sides and was still conducting a preliminary review to decide whether to recommend a full investigation. Mr. Wohl said that recommendation would probably come early next week.

A union committee reviewed ballots and nullified the election results. Among the concerns were votes recorded for teachers absent on Election Day and ballot signatures that did not match those in an earlier election, according to Mildred Haggerty, a lawyer for the local union.